Amber waves of whole-grain

To test his wheat, Doug Mosel uses a very scientific method. He scoops up about a teaspoonful, pops it in his mouth and chews.

"You have to resist the urge to swallow," Mosel instructs, explaining that the amount of time it takes the kernels of Red Fife Wheat to congeal into a small wad of gum on his tongue tells him how much gluten, which gives breads their chewy texture, is in the wheat.

A happy side effect from the test is that Mosel discovered a "tasty and satisfying" gum he can chew all day while working, which Thursday consisted of preparing 500 bags of flour and whole grains for The Mendocino Grain Project's monthly deliveries to its grain-share members.

"Store-bought gum gives me a sore throat after 20 minutes," he said, standing in a warehouse off Hastings Road in Talmage among tubs of raw Oat Groats, freshly milled flour and grain-processing equipment from days gone by.

"Nobody has the facilities anymore to separate and store grain," said Mosel, who started the project four years ago with John Gramke, a fellow Nebraska native, and Sophia Bates of the Apple Farm.

The first season, Mosel said, they grew grain on 17 acres at the Nelson Family Vineyards, and this season they have 50 acres of small grains and lentils.

"It's a growing phenomenon," Mosel said of the interest in growing old grains in small-scale operations, adding that he sells his grains to fellow farmers, bakers, families and local stores such as the Ukiah Natural Foods Co-op and Westside Renaissance Market, owned by Scott Cratty.

A favorite grain of Mosel, who admitted to choosing some grains based on their looks, is the Purple-Prairie-Barley. "In the sunlight, it almost glows," he said.

Mosel was invited to speak Friday at the North Coast Farmers Convergence, held at the Barra event center. Hosted by North Coast Opportunities, the event was designed to "cultivate community" among local growers, according to Susan Lightfoot, NCO's Farm to Fork coordinator.

"We're here to find out what others are doing and get inspired," said Lightfoot, speaking to a room packed with food producers from Mendocino, Humboldt, Sonoma, and Lake counties, along with a handful from Marin and Napa counties.

Cliff Paulin, co-founder of the Greater Ukiah Localization Project, invited Mosel to talk about how he was "Making it Work," and introduced him as "one of the superstars of the local food movement."

Mosel said he was "humbled by the invitation" and that he "certainly had received plenty of inspiration from others" himself, including the "muse" that led to the creation of the grain project, which he said was a conversation at the Anderson Valley Foodshed.

The project's founders then bought a wheat combine, leased 70 acres from the Nelson family, and with "virtually no promotion," began selling grain-shares, their version of Community Supported Agriculture.

"The response was startling, almost," he said, describing the swell of interest as a "local grain renaissance" with so many people wanting to "grow, mill and bake with what I call real' grains, compared to the anonymous, commercial stuff," that demand is exceeding capacity.

Mosel said he is inspired by his customers, who are willing to "learn how to work with a product that has more variation," and who are "so pleased at being able to make use of heirloom grains," that have so much "color, texture and taste."

Another constant source of inspiration, he said, "comes from the wheat itself," describing it as a "miracle plant with a DNA more complicated than that of a human being," and that he loves the entire growing process, from "the smell of the earth at planting, to the sweet smell of freshly milled flour."

To contact Mosel, or find out more about the project, visit mendocinograin.net.

Justine Frederiksen can be reached at udjjf@ukiahdj.com, on Twitter @JustFrederiksen or at 468-3521.